Another absurdity which results in road carnage

A judge has called for checks on elderly drivers after an infirm 86-year-old man ploughed into three pedestrians, maiming one and contributing to the death of another. Allan Skoyles was registered deaf, had undergone eight heart operations and had suffered a stroke which left him barely mobile, but was still allowed to drive.

He was pulling up in his Ford Focus outside a church in Gorleston, Norfolk, when he accidentally pressed the accelerator instead of the brake. The car mounted the pavement and hit an elderly couple, Joyce and Arthur Willett, and Emma Woolnough, 24. Miss Woolnough had a leg amputated, while Mr Willett, 78, died three months later.

There are more than 1.5million drivers aged 75 or over. Under the present law, drivers over 70 must re-apply for a licence every three years, but it is up to them to state whether they have any condition that would affect their driving.